Tim Ryan

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For others, see Tim Ryan (disambiguation).

Tim Ryan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003
Preceded by	James Traficant
Born	July 16, 1973 (1973-07-16) (age 34) Niles, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Religion	Roman Catholic

Timothy J. "Tim" Ryan (born July 16, 1973) is an American member of the Democratic Party, who is a U.S. representative for the 17th district of Ohio, serving since 2003.

[edit] Early life and career

Ryan was born in Niles, Ohio and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, where he played football as a quarterback.^[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowling Green State University in 1995. In 2000, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.

Ryan served on the staff of controversial congressman Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) in the mid-1990s. From 2000 to 2002 he served a term in the Ohio State Senate. After Traficant was convicted on criminal charges in 2002, Ryan declared his candidacy for the Congressional seat of his home district.

As the result of redistricting following the 2000 census, the 17th, which had long been based in Youngstown, now included portions of Akron and Portage County. Before the redistricting, all of Akron had been part of the 14th District, represented by eight-term Democrat Tom Sawyer. The 14th had been eliminated in the year 2000 redistricting; most of it was drawn into the 13th District of fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown, but Sawyer's home was drawn into the 17th. In the 2002 Democratic primary, Ryan defeated Sawyer, who was seen as insufficiently labor-friendly in the newly-drawn district. Traficant ran as an independent in the race from his prison cell.

Ryan easily won the general election in November 2002. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House, at 29 years of age. He was reelected in 2004 and 2006.

Recently, before the 2004 presidential election, Ryan spoke on the House floor in a charismatic speech denouncing the Bush administration's denial of a draft reinstatement, comparing this to the administration's previous claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, the Bush tax cuts would create jobs, and other such claims.^[2]. He repeated in September 2006 with an equally-impassioned speech criticizing what he felt to be the Bush administration's tendency to distract the public from key issues like the war in Iraq and the economy.^[3]

Ryan is a member of the "30 Something" Working Group ^[4], which is a Congressional caucus that includes those members of the United States House of Representatives who are Democrats and have not yet reached the age of 40. It was organized by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to energize and engage younger people in politics by focusing on issues that are important to them.^{[citation needed]}

Early in the race, Ryan was strongly courted by national Democrats to run against Mike DeWine for Senate in 2006 but he declined. He endorsed Paul Hackett for the seat, who later withdrew from the race in favor of Sherrod Brown's candidacy.

On December 13, 2006, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee for the 110th Congress.^[5]

On October 4, 2007, Ryan announced his endorsement of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in the race for the Democratic nomination for President. In a post on the well-known progressive blog DailyKos, he said: "When I vote for a President I want certain qualities. I want passion, I want conviction and I want Clarity. Today I endorse Chris Dodd because he has all three."

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
• Co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus

[edit] Popular culture

Ryan is an avid fan of the Dave Matthews Band. Ryan's 2002 campaign was recorded by British film maker Jake Shaw in his documentary What I did on my holidays — Ryan for Congress^[6].

[edit] See also

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 17th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio
• 30 Something Working Group

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congressman Tim Ryan official U.S. House site
• Tim Ryan for Congress official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia